Fifties from Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pathum Nissanka guided Sri Lanka to their first win in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as they defeated Netherlands in a closely-fought match by five wickets at Lucknow on Saturday.
Sri Lanka are at the ninth spot with two points, getting their first win in the tournament while the Netherlands are at eight spot, with one win and three losses.
In the chase of 263 runs, Sri Lanka lost opener Kusal Perera early for just five runs. Aryan Dutt took the wicket while it was Bas de Leede who took a brilliant catch at short third man. SL was 18/1 in 4.3 overs.
Kusal Mendis, the skipper took the innings forward with Pathum Nissanka. The partnership between Mendis and Nissanka was cut short with Aryan dismissing Mendis for 11 off 17 balls. Nissanka joined Sadeera Samarawickrama and reached his half-century in just 48 balls
Nissanka eventually was dismissed by Paul van Meekeran for 54 off 52 balls, Charith Asalanka and Sadeera carried the chase forward. The duo reached their 50-run stand in 75 balls.
Dutt took his third wicket, removing Asalanka for 44 off 66 balls. The partnership between Asalanka-Sadeera was over and it lasted for 77 runs. Dhananjay de Silva joined Sadeera and took SL to the 200-run mark in 35.3 overs.
In 45.5 overs, Sri Lanka brought up their 250 runs but Dhananjaya was cleaned up by Colin Ackermann for 30.
Dushan Hemantha hit the winning runs, securing SL's first win in the tournament with five wickets and 10 balls in hand. Sadeera was unbeaten at 91* in 107 balls, with seven fours.
Earlier, crucial half-centuries from Logan van Beek and Sybrand Engelbrecht propelled the Netherlands to 262 after early hiccups against Sri Lanka in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
Engelbrecht scored an outstanding 70 while van Beek played a crucial innings of 59 runs to help the Netherlands post a fighting total. For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka and Kasun Rajitha were the destructors in chief as the duo bagged four-wicket hauls respectively to bundle out the Netherlands for 262.
Engelbrecht and van Beek added 130 runs for the seventh wicket, setting a Cricket World Cup record. Their contribution helped the Dutch overcome a difficult stretch and pass the 200-run milestone.
Put to field first, Sri Lanka pacer Kasun Rajitha picked up two wickets in the powerplay, removing both Netherland openers.
The Netherlands were immediately on the back foot after losing the vital wicket of Colin Ackermann (29) when the in-form No.3 nicked a wide ball to Kusal Mendis behind the stumps off Rajitha's bowling
The spinners of Sri Lanka then took control of the middle overs, with Maheesh Theekshana taking the crucial wicket of Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards (16).
Middle-order batters Sybrand Engelbrecht and Logan van Beek put together a crucial partnership to steer the Netherlands past 170 without further loss.
The duo put up a 135-run partnership for the 7th wicket. Dilshan Madushanka provided his team with a major breakthrough as he removed Engelbrecht for 70.
Source: Times of Oman
BDST: 2004 HRS, OCT 21, 2023
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